Canvey Island flood defence work to begin
Environment Agency to begin work to renew flood defence revetment with improvements to the seafront and shoreline
Canvey seafront with the revetment visible on the lefthand side
The Environment Agency is set to begin a £75 million project to keep homes and businesses in Canvey Island protected from flooding.
Much of Canvey Island lies below the daily high-water level in the Thames Estuary. The tidal defences play a critical role in reducing the risk of flooding to people, property and infrastructure on the island.
A 3 kilometre stretch of the island’s existing tidal flood defence revetment will be renewed on its southern shoreline between Thorney Bay and the Island Yacht Club. Sections of the current revetment over the project area date back to the 1930s and need replacing.
Once completed the island’s tidal defences will continue to provide protection for 6,097 properties on the island for another 50 years. The works will also take into account the effects of rising sea levels due to climate change.
As well as refurbishing the existing tidal defences, additional enhancements will be made to the Canvey Island shoreline. These will include improved public access along the seaward walkway.
New steps to the beach and foreshore as well as project information boards will be installed. The surface of the pathway along the landward side of the seawall between Thorney Bay and Chapman Sands will also be improved.
Flowering grass seed mixes will be planted. This is to improve biodiversity on the defence and rock pools will be created to boost habitat in select locations along the foreshore.
The works are part of the Thames Estuary Asset Management (TEAM) 2100 Programme. This is a 10 year capital investment programme to refurbish and improve existing tidal flood defences. As the single largest flood risk management programme in the UK, the TEAM 2100 Programme is refurbishing, repairing and replacing defences in the Thames Estuary where required.
A concept sketch of what the proposed works to renew erosion protection on the seaward side of the existing tidal defences will look like once complete
James Mason, Operations Manager for the Environment Agency, said:
This project is essential to managing the risk of flooding for thousands of people, homes and businesses on Canvey Island.
The existing revetment along the southern shoreline is starting to reach the end of its useful life. This investment in Canvey Island’s tidal defences will ensure they continue to benefit the community on Canvey Island to 2070.
We are already seeing the impacts of climate change in the UK. Which is why schemes such as this are needed.
Everyone should know their flood risk and sign up for free flood warnings by going to https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk or calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. You can also follow @EnvAgency on Twitter for the latest flood updates.
Contractors working on behalf of the Environment Agency will begin setting up site from January with work beginning on the tidal defences from late March. The project is expected to take until summer 2025 to complete.
Ahead of the works starting in the new year, a public drop-in session will be held on 14 December 2022 at Jimmy Mac’s restaurant from 11am until 2pm. This session will provide an opportunity for the public and business owners to meet and talk with the project team.
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Notes to Editors
- To find out more about the Canvey Island southern shoreline revetment project, please visit https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/east-anglia-c-e/canvey-southern-shoreline-project.
- Image captions: Photo 1: Canvey seafront with the revetment visible on the lefthand side. Photo 2: A concept sketch of what the proposed works to renew erosion protection on the seaward side of the existing tidal defences will look like once complete.
- A record £5.2 billion will be invested nationally between 2021-27, creating around 2,000 new flood and coastal risk management schemes to better protect hundreds of thousands of properties across England.
- These schemes will help to avoid £32 billion in wider economic damages and reduce the national flood risk by up to 11%. It will reduce the risk of considerable disruption caused by potential future flooding to the daily lives of over 4 million people.
Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100 programme (TEAM2100)
- The Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100 (TEAM 2100) Programme is a 10-year programme to refurbish and improve existing tidal flood defences. It runs until March 2025.
- The programme is refurbishing, repairing and replacing the most at-risk assets in the Thames Estuary, as part of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan.
- TEAM2100 is being delivered in partnership with Jacobs, Balfour Beatty and several other suppliers.
- For more information or to find out how you can get involved in Thames Estuary 2100, contact the team at thamesestuary2100@environment-agency.gov.uk.
For East Anglia press office please contact (24 hours): 0800 917 9250
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